Normal is Over Rated
by Supermikeyninjalady
Summary: It was normal for weird things to happen to them, right? It was normal that suddenly everything was thrown into chaos and everyone in the town was fleeing... or maybe it wasn't normal. Amid the craziness and fear, new relationships replaced old and people learned things about each other they hadn't known before. These feelings were normal right? Well... maybe normal was over rated
1. Chapter 1

"Normal is over rated, and so is spelling. You want perfection? Go out and buy a spell check, but know this: Spellcheck won't keep you warm at night or love you unconditionally. I will stick to being abnormal and a bad speller. Makes life more interesting. After all, what fun is there in being normal or perfect?"  
>― Cristina Marrero<p>

Prologue…

It was a stormy day at the park and the wind whistled, blowing into trees and creating waves in the pond.

The storm had started so suddenly and in a matter of minutes, that everyone in the park had to run to various places of shelter.

Soon the house that the workers lived in, was packed with visitors of the park because they couldn't make it home, or to their cars in time.

Benson walked around with a fake smile on his face, offering coffee and hot chocolate to the freezing and frustrated people and animals. Any stranger saw the gumball machine as a friendly and happy man, but those who knew him could see through the fake smile to the creases above his eyes and the twitching of his lips. He was stressed.

Skips and Pops handed out blankets while Muscle Man and Fives worked on cleaning up the puddles people brought in from the storm, all the while grumbling about how they wished they were in Muscle Man's trailer not cleaning up this junk.

Everyone in the house seemed to be calming down gradually, and the tv was turned on along with everyone cramming into any space they could find, the couch, the stairs, and even the bathrooms.

But other than that everyone was fine…

Well almost everyone.

Mordecai stood at the front of the house right next to the door worried out of his mind. Rigby was still out there, somewhere, in the storm.

"Ugh! This is all my fault. If I hadn't started that stupid fight Rigby would be safe inside the house!" He cried to no one at all.

Just then the doors crashed open and a gust of wind and rain blew onto Mordecai's face. Throughout all this, Mordecai held a twinge of hope that it was his best friend, coming in safe and sound.

But it wasn't Rigby. It was CJ.

Mordecai never felt so bummed to see his girlfriend in the entire time they had been together.

"Hey Mordecai… I hope you don't mind, this was the closest shelter I could find away from this crazy storm." She said in her usual sweet voice.

Mordecai barely paid attention to her as he stared past her and into the rain. Before he could look any further though, Cj closed the door behind her, causing Mordecai to let out a frustrated sigh.

Instead of asking Cj if she was ok, or even why she was out in the storm to begin with, Mordecai asked:

"Did you see Rigby out there?"

"Oh no… sorry I didn't. Are you saying he's out there in the storm alone?" Cj continued, her face turning into a frown of concern for her raccoon friend.

Mordecai nodded solemnly and answered "Yeah, and it's my fault. We got into an argument over something stupid earlier and he went running out. I had no idea it was going to storm like this or else I would've gone after him. He should have been back by now. I'm just worried, he's such a little guy after all…"

"Woh there, slow down Mordecai. For all we know he could be safe in a building somewhere. And how was the argument your fault? What exactly happened?" she asked in concern.

Mordecai sighed again, "I was just yelling at him for making us late to work again because he accidentally set the alarm clock wrong. Again. I just feel so terrible, it wasn't even his fault and now he's stuck who knows where in a terrible storm."

Before Cj could say anything else, Mordecai ran into the living room and grabbed his coat and shoes, ready to go out and get his best friend.

"Hey Mordecai, where do you think you're going?!" Benson yelled to his young employee, trying to contain his stress.

"Out to find Rigby. I'm tired of just sitting around here hoping he'll come back on his own!" He cried.

"OH NO YOU DON'T…." Benson started to yell, but was stopped mid-sentence when Skips put his hand on Bensons shoulder. The yeti looked into Bensons eyes and shook his head. Benson sighed.

"Fine. If you insist on going out to look for Rigby, I'm driving. There's no way I'm going to allow you to go out into this storm on foot." Benson said.

Mordecai was shocked at Benson's caring attitude, but didn't allow himself to dwell on it. His friend was in danger.

Nodding he said "Hmmm Hmmm."

And Benson took that as an acceptance, and he too grabbed his jacket and boots, and the two of them made their way to his car.

"I want to come too." Cj said, finally coming back to the conversation.

"No. Sorry Cj but my car only fits three, and we need to go." Benson said.

Mordecai shrugged, and with one peck on Cj's lips he was off, following Benson out.

And into the swirling storm…

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Meanwhile, about a mile away from the house, Rigby struggled to hold his small frame against a tree as the winds grew stronger, and barrels upon barrels of rain hit his body forcefully.

His skinny arms were wrapped around a small branch of a particularly large tree. He was soaked to the bone from the rain and he was shivering out of control.

Bits of his fur clung to his face as a whirlwind of leaves and sticks threw themselves on him, cutting into his flesh and making him bleed lightly.

_Stupid wind. Stupid rain. Stupid fight._

Rigby thought to himself as he felt tears of fear come to his eyes. But he refused to let them fall, he was a man. And men were tough.

Rigby proceeded to call everything and everyone that came to his mind stupid. Everyone except for Mordecai that is.

He just couldn't find himself to be angry at his best friend. Instead he wished he was inside the house with him, on the couch playing videogames. Away from these storms, and away from his paralyzing fear of dying in the winds, or drowning in the rain.

All he wanted was to be held close by Mordecai and to feel the warmth of his feathers, to smell the scent of Mordecai.

Rigby was too exhausted and scared to realize what a weird thought that was, what a weird feeling he had at that moment towards his best friend.

In fact he was too tired to do anything, and found himself slowly losing his grip on the tree branch… his eyes slowly closing.

Too tired to realize that suddenly he was taken by the wind and wooshed through the air along with the various other things being pulled by the storm.

He was too tired to realize what was happening, as he went SLAM right into another tree.

All he could remember before fading into unconsciousness was a sharp pain in his head.

And then everything went dark.

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Benson's old black 1990 Mazda Miata car went skidding through the mud that lined the streets of the park.

Benson couldn't help but mutter under his breath about the insane amount of cleanup it was there was going to be after the storm, as they rode around dangerously in the dark of the storm.

Mordecai was just starting to lose hope, just starting to think he would never find the animal he realized _he just couldn't live without…_

When, there he was, a small mass of brown fluff lying in the middle of the road in front of the car.

Mordecai's heart fell into his chest as Benson skidded to a stop, just inches in front of the unconscious raccoon.

Without a second thought, Mordecai leaped out into the storm. He fought the winds until he was by his friend's side, and he scooped him up quickly into his arms, hugging the raccoon close to his chest.

"Hurry up! Get him in the car!" Benson hollered, opening the door again for them.

Finally making it to the car, Mordecai slammed the door behind him and held Rigby on his lap as they made their way back to the house.

Now that he was able to sit down, Mordecai examined his friend and despite his annoyance at himself, he couldn't help but let out a tear as he saw the raccoon.

He was covered in bleeding cuts, pieces of fur were missing leaving raw pink skin in their place, he was shivering in his unconsciousness, but worst of all, he had a gaping cut in his head with blood oozing out of it.

"Just hang on buddy. Please" Mordecai whispered to his friend even though he knew he couldn't hear him.

"Just hang on Rigby…. I need you."

TBC…

Hey everyone I hope you like my story so far, it has been so fun to write even though I only have the first chapter up so far. Don't worry there is a lot to come. So buckle in it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Please _REVIEW!_ This is my first regular show fanfiction so I REALLY want to know what you guys think of it. Thanks. And until next time…


	2. Chapter 2

"It may be normal, darling; but I'd rather be natural."  
>― Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's<p>

Chapter 1…

The car whizzed down the park streets, spewing mud and rocks in its wake. Neither Benson nor Mordecai said a word as they rushed to the house, their fingers crossed that everything would be ok.

_RING RING_

Mordecai hugged Rigby close as he continued to shake. He refused to cry as he looked down at his weak best friend. He had to be strong for him.

_RING RING_

A tree branch fell in front of the car, Benson swerved, jerking the car around it, almost getting hit.

_RING RING_

As the silence continued, Benson finally turned around and calmly said:

"Mordecai… you need to answer your phone."

_RING RING_

Mordecai sighed, and finally looked to the cell phone in his jacket pocket. The name read _CJ. _Repositioning Rigby so he could reach his phone easier, Mordecai couldn't help but cringe at the moan Rigby let out when he moved him.

"Hello?" he asked in a weak voice.

"Mordecai?! Are you ok? Is Rigby ok? Is Benson ok? You sound weak…what's going on?" Cj asked in a frantic tone, so unlike her usually.

"Woh… slow down Cj…" Mordecai said through a hushed voice, "we found Rigby… he's not doing so well…"

Tears stung at his eyes as he said this, but again he refused to let them fall.

_Be strong… for Rigby._

"Oh Mordecai…" Cj started.

"He _is _going to be ok." Mordecai interrupted, clenching his fists in anger towards Cj. But he suppressed those feelings, she hadn't done anything wrong.

As they flew around the next corner, his phone fell out of his hand, slamming into the window and breaking into two pieces.

But surprisingly, he didn't care.

The only one who mattered was Rigby.

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"Are they ok?" came the voice of a weirdly sad Pops, interrupting Cj as she stared down at her phone in confusion.

"Benson and Mordecai are ok. Rigby apparently not so much… I was about to get more information when the line went dead. Hopefully they're ok…"

"I'm sure they are. We just have to hold hope that everything is going to work out just fine." Skips said suddenly, coming into the room behind them.

Loud voices of people yelling at the tv, or arguing over blankets could be heard from the living room.

Cj rolled her eyes in annoyance. If those idiot park visitors knew what was going on they wouldn't be acting so downright annoying.

"But what are we going to do once they bring Rigby home?" Pops asked, voicing his concern, "We aren't doctors in any way…"

Skips nodded solemnly "Well we're just going to have to do our best. In this weather the doctor could never come down."

Suddenly, the door crashed open for the second time that night. But this time a very cold and concerned looking Benson came in, with Mordecai holding Rigby right on his heels.

Cj tried to get a read on Mordecai's emotions, but was unable to as he was keeping his head down. She was about to once again ask if he was ok, when she saw Rigby and swallowed back a gasp.

"He looks horrible…" she said stupidly, mentally slapping herself for the insensitivity.

"Let's get him somewhere secluded, away from all the people." Skips said, taking control.

The others nodded, and soon they were all rushing into the living room and up the stairs. As they did so the room quieted down, people staring in their direction, whispering among themselves.

"What are you looking at?" Cj asked venomously, effectively shutting the visitors up.

And without a second thought she too was making her way up the stairs.

When they got to the hallway Benson's brow creased in annoyance. The hallways were littered with soda and beer cans and a few drunk people lying on the floor. Apparently they had found the party stash in the attic.

But what annoyed him the most, was the fact that people had managed to take up every room in the house, Mordecai and Rigby's room, Pops' room, and even his office.

"Nope. This is not going to do." Skips said gruffly.

"Follow me." Benson said in his _I couldn't be more serious _voice.

Entering the bathroom they were welcomed with a cloud of steam, coming from the shower. Luckily it was just a couple kids fully clothed, just trying to warm up.

"Sorry kids, I'm going to have to ask you to go into another room, we need some space." Benson said in a calm voice.

"Oh dude! Is that guy ok?" One of the kids cried, pointing at the raccoon.

Officially losing his patience Mordecai gave Rigby to Cj, took the kids by the collars of their shirts, and shoved them out of the bathroom door.

"Yes! He is going to be fine!" And with that he slammed the door behind him.

Seeing it wouldn't be wise to say anything to further Mordecai's annoyance, no one said anything.

Instead Mordecai wordlessly took Rigby back from Cj's arms and cradled him once again to his chest.

"We need to get him warmed up." Skips said, breaking the silence. He pointed towards the shower.

"If those kids didn't use up all the hot water, we may be able to warm him up like that. We can't put him in the water, because someone with hypothermia could get seriously worse if we drastically change their body temperature."

Mordecai swallowed when Skips mentioned hypothermia, he thought it might be that, and hearing it come from Skips' mouth just confirmed his fears.

"H-how do we warm him up then?" Mordecai asked shakily.

"Well I'm no doctor, but I've been around long enough to see what to do in this case scenario. Basically we still will need the shower, just like those kids did, we can turn the shower on to increase the heat, but not actually get him in it. Also we will need tons of blankets, Benson can you get those? And we also need fresh towels to dry him off, Cj, Pops, that's up to you. High Fives, Muscle Man go make some hot tea for when he is a bit better." Skips ordered expertly.

The others nodded and left, leaving Skips, Mordecai and Rigby alone.

Mordecai silently thanked Skips for getting the others out of there, it was starting to feel cramped in the small bathroom with all of them in there at once.

"What do I do?" Mordecai asked desperately, wanting… no, _needing _to help in some way.

He was frustrated when Skips didn't answer him at first, and instead worked on cranking up the heat in the shower.

Finally Skips turned around and said "You already are."

"W-what?"

"Another thing helpful with hypothermia, is body heat. You are giving Rigby some of your body heat when you hug him to you like that. Continue to do that, and you are helping more than I can relay."

Mordecai nodded, and couldn't help but smile a bit at the corner of his lips at the thought of helping his little friend.

But that smile was soon gone when he saw Rigby once again tremble under his wings.

Sitting down, he pulled Rigby impossibly closer to him, and sat in a ball trying to give off as much body heat as he could. He started to rub his hands up and down Rigby's wet fur, constantly to keep him warm.

As he was doing this Skips turned around and smiled at the two of them.

_Mordecai is a good friend._

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In the fuzz of pain and exhaustion inside Rigby's brain, he could feel a warm source. And he knew that he was safe.

He felt the temperature rising slowly, but it didn't seem to make him feel any less cold.

He could also hear voices, his brain too weak at the moment to be able to make out what they were saying, or who they belonged to.

Suddenly he felt something warm and feathery running up and down his arms…

Mordecai.

Those were Mordecai's wings.

He unconsciously leaned into the feeling of Mordecai's big hands on him. His big warm hands that could always comfort him in a way no one else ever could.

And the fuzz that plagued him slowly, very slowly, began to dissipate, and straining his ears, he could almost make out words.

"Rig…"

_That's Mordecai's voice…_

"Hear me?"

_Yes! I hear you dude!_

His mind screamed. His lips twitched. He _needed_ Mordecai to know he heard him.

"M-Mord…Morde…"

He whispered. His lips felt chapped. His head hurt. He was still freezing cold, and he felt like he was going to barf.

So… why was he so happy?

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Mordecai was rubbing his hands up and down Rigby's arms when he could have sworn he felt Rigby lean into his touch.

Gasping, he wasted no time to lean over his friend's small form and say:

"Rigby?"

He felt another twitch.

"Can you hear me?" He asked, this time softer and soothingly.

He nearly let his walls down and cried in relief when he heard that voice.

"M-Mord…Morde…"

"That's it Rigby… open your eyes for me. You can do it buddy."

Just then the others came back into the room, holding their various supplies.

They backed up when they saw Rigby stirring, to give them some space. Even Skips was quiet in anticipation.

Finally after what seemed like hours, Rigby opened his eyes. He squinted, and immediately shut them again, but it was enough to relieve the hearts of everyone in the room, at least somewhat.

Mordecai couldn't help but let out a choked sob that sounded more like a stifled laugh, and he gripped Rigby's tiny hand in his.

"C-c-cold…" Rigby whispered. And Mordecai had to strain his ears in order to make out what he was saying.

"I know dude." Mordecai said calmly, stroking the wet fur out of Rigby's now squeezed shut eyes.

After hearing this, Cj and Benson passed the towels to Mordecai, and he began to dry off Rigby.

Skips and Cj offered to help, but Mordecai politely declined. Something weird in the put of his stomach was saying, don't you let them touch Rigby…

But he shrugged it off as an after effect of being so worried about his best friend.

I mean what else would it be?

"M-m-mordecai?" Rigby asked quietly.

"Shhh Rigby, don't try and speak."

"M-m-mordecai?" Rigby asked, ignoring him.

"What dude?"

"A-am I dying?" he asked sadly.

Mordecai's heart broke at hearing his friend so vulnerable and weak, and finally, finally, after holding his wall up for so long, he allowed one single tear to roll down his face before quickly brushing it away.

"No dude. You're not dying."

_Not while I'm around._

TBC…

Hey so I really really hope you liked this chapter. I am so sorry for not updating in 6 days, it usually does NOT take me that long, but I was sick. Anyways I'm better now.

If anyone was wondering, of course while I (just like Skips) am not a doctor, I did do research on hypothermia and how to treat it. So I'm not just making up all that stuff from thin air. Also if you thought Mordecai was being a little out of character when I made him throw those kids out, you have to keep in mind how stressed and scared he was. Ok rant over.

Please _REVIEW, _when you do, it really helps motivate me to continue with the story. And constructive criticism really helps me improve my story to be the best it can be.

Until next time.


	3. Chapter 3

"Everything was perfectly healthy and normal here in Denial Land."

-Jim Butcher, Cold Days

Chapter 2…

Cj stood to the back of the bathroom with a growing headache. It had been an hour since they brought Rigby back to the house and the storm was only getting worse.

Not to mention, the household guests were only getting more restless, and if it was even possible, more annoying.

Rigby had fallen back into unconsciousness quickly after he woke up about 30 minutes ago, and he finally, fortunately was starting to warm up.

"He's not out of the woods yet." Skips sighed, pulling Cj from her thoughts, and back into the conversation.

"Can we get him somewhere more comfortable? I mean we've been sitting here on the cold tiles of the bathroom for an hour now." Benson said, looking over in concern at Mordecai.

He was still holding Rigby to him, but now he was starting to look bad himself. His eyes had dark circles under them and they were puffy from crying. And every few minutes he let out a soft yawn.

Cj wondered to herself if Benson was actually aiming his concern towards Mordecai.

"We can take Rigby to my house," Skips put in suddenly. "For all I know no one is in there."

"Great," Benson smiled in relief "Muscle Man, Fives, you guys stay here with me. Some of us need to look after the people here. Besides we don't want to overcrowd Skips' house."

"Sounds good… but I have a question. How are we going to get through the storm and to Skips' house? The storm's gotten impossibly worse." Cj asked.

"Yeah. And there's no way I'm taking Rigby back into the storm." Mordecai suddenly said defensively.

"Good point. I guess that's out then." Benson sighed.

"We'll just kick people out of our room." Rigby whispered in a hoarse voice. Everyone stared over at him.

"Dude! How long have you been awake?" Mordecai asked a little too loudly, causing Rigby to flinch.

"Not so loud dude… I have a headache," Rigby answered "I've only been awake for a few seconds. Long enough to… (cough) hear a-about Skip's h-h-house…"

By the time he finished he entered a coughing fit, the coughs were loud and grotesque. And they hurt his throat so much that single tears leaked out of the corner of his eyelids.

Mordecai looked down at his best pal guiltily, and started to rub the little guy's back gently. "Shh… breathe Rigs breathe."

Taking comfort in Mordecai's words, Rigby sucked in a big breath of air, slowly finding himself able to calm down, until his coughs were reduced to pitiful wheezes.

Once he calmed down, he took in his surroundings once more. He was still in the bathroom… being held by his best friend. And everyone, including his boss and Muscle man were looking on with concern. Even Mordecai's stinking girlfriend was staring at him…

Suddenly embarrassed, Rigby hid his face in Mordecai's chest. Breathing in the smell of Mordecai and feeling his feathers tickle his chin. He didn't care if later his friend teased him, he just wanted the others to stop freaking _staring_ at him. The only one he ever allowed himself to be weak in front of was Mordecai.

Realizing his friend's embarrassment right away, Mordecai stood up and made his way to their room, once making it inside, he was happy to see the people had left, so he shut the door in his other friend's faces, feeling weirdly protective all of a sudden.

If Rigby didn't want them staring at him, it was up to Mordecai to stop it.

Without thinking, instead of placing Rigby on his mass of dirty clothes on top of his trampoline, he slowly lowered Rigby onto his bed, tucking him under the covers, and with one last pat on the head he turned to leave so Rigby could sleep.

"Wait…" Rigby said meekly.

"What is it bud?" Mordecai asked in concern.

"C-can you… stay with me?" Rigby asked, surprising both Mordecai and himself.

If it were any normal day, Mordecai would have teased his best friend, but stayed with him anyways.

But today wasn't any normal day. And as the winds whipped the branches against their single window, casting an eerie looking shadow across the room, Mordecai made his way back over to the bed, sliding under the covers with Rigby.

As he did this, only one thought came up in his mind.

Something was wrong.

He wasn't supposed to feel this.

This wasn't normal… right?

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"Well then…" Cj murmed to herself as the door was effectively shut in her face.

Skips placed a hand on her shoulder as she sadly looked towards the ground.

"Don't take this the wrong way Cj. He's just worried about his friend. Those two have been friends for basically their whole lives. Don't take it personally."

Cj nodded in understanding. "You're right. I'm just being selfish. Rigby needs Mordecai right now."

_Besides I am the one that has his heart, after all I'm his girlfriend._

With this thought in mind, Cj was about to turn around and make her way to the crowded living room with the others, when a loud bang on the door was heard from the front entrance.

Benson and Cj shared a quick look of worry, before rushing down the long stairway, the others on their feet.

What they saw at the bottom was enough to take their breaths away.

All the park visitors hid in the corner of the rooms, shivering and crying.

There in the middle of the room was a tall cloaked man with wild black hair flowing from the top of his head. His mouth was unnaturally wide and he wore a huge freaky grin, showing crystal white jagged teeth. On the very ends of his two front teeth, red liquid dripped. He was skinny, and when he lifted his arms up black spirits with white faces screeched out, and flew out of the room.

There he stood, right next to a gaping hole that was once the front door.

"W-who are you?" Benson asked bravely.

"I am the boogeyman." He stated.

"And I'm here to end the world."

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Mordecai was on the edge of sleep, just between awareness and oblivion.

He felt a small paw on his back, and fought with his feelings.

At the moment… he and his feelings were at war.

Amidst the craziness of his mind he fought to think of someone other than Rigby… like Cj. He liked Cj.

And that was about 50% true.

He really did like Cj. But as much as he hated to admit it to himself, he only liked her as a friend.

Those sparks that were supposed to come with a kiss, were nowhere to be seen. They weren't around…

They didn't exist.

But… then who did he like?

Did he still love Margaret?

Or did he _ever _love Margaret?

Before he could think of the answer to that horrifying question… he was startled awake by a loud scream from downstairs.

Turning, he saw that Rigby had also woken up, and he looked just as confused as Mordecai was.

"Let's go!" Mordecai said, jumping out of the bed and making his way to the door.

For the second time that night he was stopped by a weak voice before he could leave.

"Mordecai…"

"Rigby we have to go." Mordecai said urgently.

"I know but…"

"No dude, we have to go."

"Dude, Mordecai just listen to me… I know we need to go but…" Rigby looked down in defeat and shame "I-I can't walk."

It hit Mordecai then, his little buddy was still sick. He was still too weak to walk.

"Oh… Rigby I'm sorry." He whispered, feeling incredibly insensitive.

Walking over to the small raccoon, he lifted his face with his wings until he was looking at him. He felt even worse when he saw his small emotional friend on the edge of tears.

"Rigby… it's ok."

And with that he was once again lifting his small friend into his arms, and they were running.

Not realizing or caring… about the trouble they were about to run into.

TBC…

Hey everyone here's chapter 2! I hope you enjoy it and please _REVIEW!_


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